Kashkari revealed this week that he took to the streets starting July 21 to show how tough it is for some Californians to find a job. He arrived in Fresno by bus, he said, with $40 and a toothbrush, and failed to find a job — or even a “help wanted” sign — for six days.

Kashkari’s campaign was down to $122,000 as of June 30, according to records on file with the California secretary of state. But Kashkari raised $432,000 in July — including more than $200,000 since his Fresno foray, said his spokeswoman, Mary-Sarah Kinner. She said the effort brought needed attention to key issues before state voters — joblessness and poverty.

The money will come in handy for Kashkari, who is up against an incumbent, Gov. Jerry Brown, who has banked $22 million — that’s a 50-1 monetary advantage — and has a 20-point lead in the polls.

Kashkari’s campaign windfall has handed Democrats the opportunity to jab at the multimillionaire former investment banker and administrator of the federal bank bailout. They say it shows he has options, and friends in high places, that the homeless and jobless lack.

State Democratic Party chairman John Burton said of Kashkari’s homeless and jobless stint: “It looks silly unless he has a point to it. Is he going to call for increasing the minimum wage or job opportunities to the homeless, or to build clean and better shelters? What is his point?”

Burton acknowledged that Kashkari’s job hunt scored media attention, saying, “We wouldn’t be talking about him if he didn’t do this.”

But “if he took a dump in the middle of Market Street, he’d get attention too.”